Many Years Ago, I Told A Nuclear Power Loving (Eventually Employee) Friend that I Heard that China had Solar Panels that Charged Even Off The Moon Light…

Comments

• beSyl@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Firstly, I’d like to say that the moon does not produce light. It only reflects light, like a mirror.

  Secondly, I very much doubt that there are solar panels on earth that can generate energy from the light reflected from the moon. Not to any meaningful value.

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  • GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Yes, that is true, but everyone do calls it moon light.

    I thought so,

    Thanks for replying,

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• Buffalox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Even if moonlight could be harvested for energy, the amount of energy is infinitesimal and would have absolutely zero practical use.

  The energy of moonlight is only 1 millionth of sun light, and it is very doubtful that solar panels with low enough internal resistance will ever exist to allow any measurable energy output.

  The theoretical energy is only 0.003 w/m² with a clear sky at full moon. This is such a small amount of energy that I doubt it will ever be worth pursuing. A similar amount of energy can be picked up from ambient radio waves, that would have the clear advantage of being way more stable working 24/7.

  Moonlight can be a nice light source at night, and it can look pretty, but as an energy source it is absolutely useless.

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  • GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Thanks, for better more complete explanation.

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• pdqcp@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  It is not exactly solar nor moon light, but there has been some experimentation with radiative cooling, which allows solar panels, with attached thermoelectric generators, to convert the night sky into a power source, but it is in the milliWatt range for now

  See this paper for reference: “Nighttime electric power generation at a density of 350 mW/m2 via radiative cooling”

  www.cell.com/…/S2666-3864(24)00676-3

  Summary:
  The coldness of the universe is a thermodynamic resource that can be harvested for renewable energy generation. Theoretically, on the Earth’s surface, the maximum power density that can be harvested from the earth’s thermal radiation is around 6,000 mW/m2. However, most experiments conducted so far have demonstrated a much lower power density in the tens of mW/m2. Here, we maximize the power density of such an energy-harvesting system by selecting efficient components with optimal sizing, minimizing heat leakage, and optimizing the thermal radiation spectrum. Our prototype achieves a sustained high power density of 350 mW/m2 at night, and we also demonstrate a power density at the 1,000 mW/m2 level using an above-ambient-temperature heat source. Our work here shows that the coldness of the universe can be harvested to generate renewable energy at the power density level that approaches the established theoretical bound.

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  • Tuuktuuk@piefed.europe.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    So, less than a square metre of our planet’s surface is radiating enough energy to power a 4W led bulb? Not bad, actually!

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